Tile



9, 1941- w. SCHMOHL 2,265,614

- v TILE Filed July 24, 1959 HI I III I": I II w 11 I III I I III II I mILIIU II III KIM-II /L III ATTORNESS Patented Dec. 9, 1941 UN-IS'FED- STATES:- PATENT OFFICE TILE Walter Schmohl, Stuttgart; Germany ApplicationJuly 24, 1939, Serial No. 286,239

In.,Germany Julyl, 1936 3" Claims. (CL' 72-22)" The-present. inventionrelates to. a new and.

marketable formof wall or floor tile or tiling.

This new formwhich may suitably be described.

as atile-strip, consists, according to'the invention,.of several tiles-arrangedin a row'and suitablyconnectedat theback byampliable or flexible connection. Such a tile-unit, consisting of an-.interconnect'ed row of tiles, can be i used in the same manner as carpets or linoleum for covering wall or floor spaces.

ThegkIlOWIl ceramic. slabs. or tiles have to be formed into wall or-iioor coverings by experienced craftsmen,.with-the use oi' mortar; at the place where they are used. Moreover much experience is required -for perfect tiling, since in the-course of timethe-ceramicslabs swell,- as a result of accumulated moisture; andconsequent lyincrease in size, a fact'whichleads, often years afterwards; to. warping of the tiled surface, or at least-to the loosening of. individual tiles.

The swelling of the tiles, whichdepends upon.

manyindeterminata-factors, causes damage in cases where the tiles are laid by the meanshithertoused; (that iswithzmortar which .at first sets comparatively quickly I and soonbecomes hard) on-account .of the absolute rigidity of" the cement, and in spite of the fact that the increase in size This is of each individual tile is insignificant.

because considerable forces arise'which are mul- I tiplied in a number. of adjoining tiles and cause the-tiles to burst 01f.-

It is among-the objects-of the present invention. to eliminate -1these forces arising from the swelling.;of. the tiles by the use, for laying the tiles,.of a cement-which retains a certain plasticity :after setting and hardening. Naturally however, considerable precautions must be" takenv to prevent the freshly applied tiles from slipping down orfalling off;

The presence-ofplaster of Paris in the mortar hitherto :used for laying tiles always presentedandanger: The precautionary measures and other extra-,work required in the hithertousedtile-laying processes; which, particularly in old buildings, consisted 'in:removingtthe plasterof- Parismement and subsequent replastering and practically always in painting and :papering, resulted' inra large amount of dirt and gave riseto considerable'costs which, including thewages of theoworkmen, amounted .to many times the cost of the tiles. watertight; and water penetratingv through the spaces-between tl'ieitiles results in. considerable" The hollow spaces. which must of a necessityremain behind. tilesdamage. to rthe. structure:

Moreover the tiled surface is never:

laid in mortar,. according to 'thehitherto used processes, in addition to the breaks in the mor.-'

tar between the tiles resulting from swelling (possibility ofthe nesting of vermin), and the moisture absorbing properties of the mortar, clestroy the hygienic qualities which a tiled surface is supposed to possess.

According to the present invention, the above disadvantages are-removed by the use of a cement which retains acertain amount of 'p1as-' ticity after. hardening or setting, but which is watertight. in a row, by means of a backing or back wall secured to the backs thereof which bridges over the joints between thetiles'; and furthermore thebacksof the tilesare providedwith projections, ridges or the -like,'the surfaces of; which; lie substantially in one plane and which are preferably narrower than the depressions lying "between them.

The inventionwill appear more clearly'from the following description, when taken inconne'ction with the accompanying drawing showing, by

way--of example, preferred embodiments of the inventive idea.

Inthe drawing-z Figure .lis a perspective view of'a tile strip;

Figure 2 is a section along the line 2'2"'of' Figure 1; 7

Figure 3 is aperspective view of a tile strip provided-with a mesh;

Figura isa section along the line. 4-4 of Figure 3.

The corrugations of the backs of thetiles '5 may well/be formed by the non-rigid backing which connects the individual tiles and which consists preferably .of a coarse mesh web 63(Fig..

3), of jute for example, or of parallel cords I (Fig. l)-.

If the corrugations on the back of thetiles 5 are formedby the material of the backing this results in the advantage that the tiles'are secured against swelling when they are laid, since the cordslor thethreads of the coarse meshed web.

of five pliably interconnected individual tiles 5, directly on to .the mortanior example. onfto.

plaster of Paris cement, is -considerably facili- Moreover several tiles are connected" drawal of moisture by the surface of application,

and thus attains a considerable power of ad-' hesion. The projections on the backs of the tiles are forced into this strongly adhesive layer when the tiles are applied, with the result that the upper layers of the bitumen emulsion which are still in a pasty condition are forced aside and that the tiles adhere firmly to the surface of application. However, the displacement of the tile strip within certain limits is still possible in order to fit it into the correct position.

When the backs of the tiles are concavely profiled, this immediate adhesion is increased, because the water-containing cement which has penetrated into the depressions of the tile, disappears as a result of the withdrawal of moisture, so that a vacuum arises in the cup like spaces and consequently the individual tiles are forced against the airtight surface of application by natural air pressure. 3

This firm initial adhesion of the projections, ridges or the like of the tiles prevents any slipping of the. individual tiles and consequently of the whole tile strip. Such slipping was unavoidable with the adhesives formerly used and could onlybe prevented by taking special precautionary measures.

The pasty bitumen emulsion which, as a result of capillary action, holds the walls of the projections on to the back of the tiles, hardens gradually at first as moisture is withdrawn and thus ensures a secure adhesion of the complete strip.

If the pliably interconnected tiles have honeycombed rear surfaces or if the entire pliable backing or back wall consists of a coarse mesh web which, when glued to the back of the tiles, forms numerous hollows with transverse dividing projections, then the tile strip cemented with bitumen emulsion can be heated almost to the melting point of the bitumen without the tiles being loosened, because the transverse projections prevent the softened bitumen from flowing down, whilst firm adhesion to the surface of application is maintained by the thin bitumen layers below the projections.

The backing connecting the individual tiles,

particularly when it also forms the projections on the back of the tiles, for example, when it consists of coarse mesh web or of parallel cords, is secured to the tiles in the following manner. Several tiles are laid in a row in such a manner that by an interposed distance piece or the like a small space remains between each tile and the backs of the tiles are coated with a cement which, after setting and hardening, is watertight and airtight, for example a water-containing bitumen emulsion, hot bitumen, waterglass or the like. Whilst the layer of cement is still soft and adhesive, the coarse mesh web or the parallel cords are pressed into the cement to about half their thickness, with the result that they are saturated by the cement and after hardening and setting of the same become airtight and watertight. Any superfluous cement is if necessary removed, e. g. by scraping. Tile strips made in this manner may be used immediately after hardening or setting of the cement, or alternatively they may be packed for storage or for consignment to the place of use.

The cords or chains and/or threads of the backing or web which bridge over the space between the adjacent tiles allow of considerable displacement between the adjoining tiles in a direction parallel to the dividing space, particularly in using a cement remaining plastic to a certain degree.

When a tile strip of this kind is to be applied to .a wall or floor, according to the invention, the

surface of application, that is the wall or floor, is coated with a layer of bitumen emulsion or other water-containing cement which after hardening and setting becomes water-repelling and/ or water tight, and then the back surface of the tile strip is pressed into the layer of cement on the wall or floor. a

Any swelling of-the tiles in the course of months or years after laying is rendered innocuous by the cement which retains a certain plasticity even after drying and hardening, and furthermore by the plastic filling of the intermediate spaces, which allows expansion.

The thin layer of adhesive, which is chiefly responsible for the firm adhesion of the tile strip according to the invention, is remarkably durable even when subject to relatively high temperatures. The firm adhesion of the wall or floor covering according to the present invention is to be traced to the fact that two elements which are connected by means of a comparatively thin colloidal layer, such as for example, carpenters glue, adhere together much better than two elements connected by means of a thick colloidal layer of the same adhesive.

According to the invention, the tiles are joined in only one row so that each row is entirely independent of the laterally adjoining row. Consequently any thrust which arises can work itself out only in the longitudinal direction since there exists no direct connection with the tiles on either side of the row.

Important advantages of the tile strip according to the invention are its cheapness, the possibility of self laying, the watertight qualities of the tiled surface formed according to the invention, and the fact that the formation of harmful hollow spaces, and loosening of the tiles are rendered impossible. Moreover the watertight and airtight setting of the tiled strip prevents the nesting of vermin, a function which may be aided by the addition of a suitable vermin exterminator to the bitumen emulsion.

A further advantage is that in kitchens, the cheaper woodwork may be used, since it can be protected by the tiled strips according to the invention and the tiled strips are easily fixed thereto. The use of the tiled strips of the invention as a gastight and washable wall and celling covering in air raid shelters is advantageous, because the hitherto known tiling by means of cement offered only an apparent insulation against gas and water, just as the hygienic qualities of tiled surfaces set in cement are also only apparent.

What I claim is:

1. A tile strip, comprising a plurality of adjoining tiles consisting of baked ceramic plates, said tiles being situated one next to the other and extending in a closely spaced single row, a backing attached to the backs of the tiles and extending over the entire row of the tiles and spacing them in said closely spaced relationship, and cementing means attaching said backing to said tiles, whereby said tiles are pliably interconnected at the back, said backing being saturated with said cement.

2. A tile strip, comprising a plurality of adjoining tiles situated one next to the other and extending in a closely spaced single row, a plurality of parallel cords attached to the backs of the tiles and extending over the entire row of the tiles, said cords spacing the tiles in said closely spaced relationship and constituting projections the surfaces of which lie substantially in one plane, the cords being separated from each other by spaces which are wider than the surfaces of the cords, and cementing means attaching said cords to the backs of said tiles, whereby said tiles are pliably interconnected at the back.

3. A tile strip, comprising a plurality of adjoining tiles situated one next to the other and extending in a closely spaced single row, a web attached to the backs of the tiles and comprising parallel threads extending over the entire row of the tiles, said threads spacing the tiles in said closely spaced relationship and constituting projections, the surfaces of which lie substantially in one plane, and being separated from each other by spaces which are wider than the surfaces of the threads, and cementing means attaching said web to the backs of said tiles, whereby said tiles are pliably interconnected at the back, said web being saturated with said 20 cement.

WALTER SCHMO'HL. 

